This disclosure relates generally to medical assemblies for the administration of fluids, and more particularly to devices for inserting an intravenous catheter into a patient for fluid administration.
Hypodermic needles are notorious for spreading blood-borne diseases such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (“HIV”), the virus that causes Autoimmune Deficiency Syndrome (“AIDS”). Health care workers are among those most at risk for contracting such diseases, as hypodermic needles are commonly used in medical fields. Needle stick injuries may arise during planned use and exposure, and/or as a result of carelessly or maliciously discarded needles.
The Federal Needle Stick Safety Act was enacted into law on Nov. 6, 2000, and is aimed at reducing the risk to health care workers arising from accidental needle sticks. Among other compliance mandates, the Federal Needle Stick Safety Act requires the use of needles with engineered needle injury protections. Accordingly, many hypodermic needles manufactured today include a needle tip shield or the like to protect against accidental needle sticks.
Of particular concern, however, are injuries from hollow-bore needles, especially those used for blood collection or intravenous (“IV”) catheter insertion. These devices are likely to contain residual blood and are associated with an increased risk for HIV transmission. Additionally, devices that require manipulation or disassembly after use, such as hollow-bore needles used for IV catheter insertion, have rates of injury of up to 5.3 times the rate for disposable hypodermic syringes. Such injuries most often occur during or after use and before disposal of the used needle.
IV catheters are traditionally used to infuse fluids, such as saline solution, various medicaments, and/or total parenteral nutrition into a patient. Such catheters may also be used to withdraw blood from a patient, and/or monitor various parameters of the patient's vascular system.
To introduce an IV catheter into a patient, an over-the-needle catheter may be mounted over a hollow-bore introducer needle having a sharp distal tip. The inner surface of the catheter may tightly engage the outer surface of the needle to prevent catheter peelback and facilitate insertion of the catheter into a blood vessel. The tip of the introducer needle may extend beyond the distal tip of the catheter to enable insertion of the catheter at a shallow angle through the patient's skin and into a blood vessel.
To verify proper placement of the needle and catheter in the blood vessel, the clinician may confirm the presence of “flashback” blood in a flashback chamber associated with the catheter and needle assembly. Once proper placement is confirmed, the clinician may then apply pressure to the blood vessel to occlude the vessel, thereby minimizing further blood flow through the introducer needle and catheter. The clinician must then withdraw the needle from the catheter to enable continued access to the blood vessel through the catheter as may be required to infuse fluids or the like. This process of physically manipulating and disassembling the needle and catheter after the needle has been used to position the catheter in a patient's blood vessel creates substantial risks of both accidental needle sticks and exposure to blood and blood contaminants.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for a catheter insertion device with an automatic safety barrier to prevent injury from accidental needle sticks as well as from exposure to biological contaminants. Beneficially, such a device would enable simple and effective operation, minimize an amount of physical manipulation needed to disassemble the needle and catheter after use, and ensure that the end of the needle is properly shielded prior to such disassembly. Such a device is disclosed and claimed herein.